The alleged gunman charged in connection with the 2020 disappearance of Justin Tyler Sawyer in Oak Grove had his trial postponed Monday morning in Christian Circuit Court as he has a new attorney.
Judge John Atkins told 21-year old Dawuan Davis of Clarksville that his new attorney, Stephanie Ritchie-Mize, agreed with the Commonwealth to postpone the trial that had been scheduled for Monday and to set a pretrial conference for March 23.
A new trial date could be scheduled then, or a hearing could be set sooner if Ritchie-Mize and Commonwealth’s Attorney Rick Boling are able to negotiate a plea deal between now and then.
A codefendant, 37-year old Gene Henry, was scheduled for sentencing on a tampering with evidence charge Monday morning, but it too was delayed until March 23.
Henry accepted a plea deal in October that comes with a recommended four-year sentence.
A third defendant in the case, 23-year old Marquell Sims of Oak Grove, pled guilty Friday to facilitation to robbery, facilitation to kidnapping and facilitation to first-degree assault as part of a deal that comes with a recommended five-year sentence.
Kentucky State Police say Sims was in the car with Davis and Sawyer on December 17, 2020 during a drug deal gone bad that led to Davis allegedly shooting Sawyer five times.
Sims reportedly got out of the car after the first two shots were fired and walked across KY 115 from the car at the Shell Station in Oak Grove to the Pilot gas station. Police say Davis later in the night used the help of Henry to move Sawyer’s body from the back seat to the trunk of his stolen car.